My cousin and i have been obsessive deer watchers since we were both old enough to walk. (those who know us would agree) there are multiple reasons why the deer were so big this year. first off, spring of 2011 was one of the wettest springs regionally in a long while. Wet spring equals lots of vegetation growth meaning plenty of good feed for the wildlife. second factor; winter of 2011 (dec 2011-feb 2012)was one of the mildest winters we had in a long time. less snow equals more access to vegetation grown from the previous spring, which in this case was in abundance. overall meaning the deer had one of the easiest winters to date. easy winter=healthy deer. healthy deer = good antler growth for the upcoming year. We may have had a solid drought year but. the time of year deer are scrounging for vegetation is when its covered in snow during the winter. they will find vegetation during the spring and summer of drought years just fine. its the following winter range that is effected by a drought. Another major factor to this being an amazing year for hunting was the plethora of snowfall during the actual hunt. lots of snow will push deer out of their normal patterns and bring them down lower in elevation where there are more hunters. as well the combination of cold and snow triggers pre rut doe chasing causing alot if bucks to go into "stupid mode" rather than there normal hide and be safe sitting. in short. God couldn't have planned out the seasons better to provide us with such an optimal year for big deer. Now, due to the harsh drought, if we do end up having a bad winter this year, antler growth will suffer and we will be seeing alot less growth next year
"I've hunted almost every day of my life, The rest have been wasted"
